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Topic: What's Going on in Business? (Read 3030 times)

What's Going on in Business?

I've recently seen TV commercials by the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). I assume that they've been on forever and that I miss them because I record almost all of the programs that I watch and zip through the commercials.

While watching a live sporting event recently a couple of ASPCA spots were featured that were real heart tuggers. Little puppies were featured that had presumably been abused. Hmmmm, I thought. Guessing that the organization was not as humane and pure as the commercial suggested, I looked further. Well, a recent board president had a salary of $566,064! In 2012 it took in $163,615,458.

To me death is the ultimate cruelty, and the organization euthanizes animals.

Take a look here...
http://www.nathanwinograd.com/?p=7390

Maybe euthanizing animals is inevitable, but it strikes me as odd for an organization that claims to prevent cruelty to animals to be killing animals.

Re: What's Going on in Business?

Reply #1
In fairness to the ASPCA, here's their side of the story.

Quote
After arriving at the ASPCA's facility, Oreo began to recuperate from her injuries, only to begin showing signs of extreme aggression—with little provocation or warning.  As is customary at the ASPCA, the dog underwent a series of comprehensive behavior evaluations.  This evaluation system has been used to assess many other dogs and is used to determine the rehabilitation programs needed to prepare them for foster care or placement.  In the case of Oreo, we also sought the assessment of an outside veterinary behaviorist.  The outcomes of these evaluations were all the same:  the dog was not able to be placed in a home.  Despite extensive behavior rehabilitation efforts undertaken by ASPCA staff, Oreo continued to lunge, growl, snap and attempt to bite.   She would lunge at a behaviorist, only to spontaneously and unpredictably redirect her aggression toward her handler.   She could not be socialized with other dogs for fear of an attack—her aggression toward other dogs was clearly evident during her evaluations.  For the safety of the individuals at the ASPCA, the other animals, and Oreo herself, she had to be kept in relative isolation, and daily contact with her was kept to a minimum of essential, and highly-trained, personnel.  In fact, employees were even directed to refrain from making sustained eye contact with Oreo so as to not incite aggression.

Because adoption was not an option, the ASPCA looked at placing Oreo in a long-term resident facility.  However, because of the aggressive behavior displayed, it is almost certain that Oreo would have lived out her entire life in seclusion from other dogs and people.   Her contact with the outside world would have been minimal at best.  Her quality of life would have been reduced to virtually nothing.  Thus, we arrived at the painful yet clear decision to humanely euthanize Oreo.

Re: What's Going on in Business?

Reply #2
Surprising that they'd excuse themselves.

Re: What's Going on in Business?

Reply #3
You missing the squirrels jimbro?
"Quit you like men:be strong"

Re: What's Going on in Business?

Reply #4
I do because I was so accustomed to seeing them in my backyard. There are no nut bearing trees in my area of Tennessee, hence no squirrels. Happily, though, there are thousands of robins here, whereas there are none in Michigan at this time of year.

Better yet is the fact that Obama isn't sending troops to Ukraine! :D

Re: What's Going on in Business?

Reply #5
There are no nut-bearing trees in my area of Tennessee

Check the institutions of "Higher Learning"! I'm sure you'll find that you were mistaken… :)
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Re: What's Going on in Business?

Reply #6
I use my eyes.

Re: What's Going on in Business?

Reply #7
Two (or three) worlds

The initial attraction of Tesla, presumably what attracted Musk to join Tesla in the first placce, was the faster, smoother sports car. The electrical motor is superior to the combustion engine, but the battery is an inferior energy store.

Nio was not the first Chinese company with swappable batteries. I trace that evolution back to this beauty:

Spotted in China: Xiaoshuidi Electric Vehicle



Not the first electric car by any means, but one of the prettiest. The goal was obviously not a sleek sports car, but a way to get where you want cheaply. Crucially it was powered by a good old (and cheap) lead acid car battery, and those batteries are standardised, and thus swappable.

There were earlier pioneers, like the Norwegian Pivco/Think Global, that preceded either by a decade. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGZ78J6AqVc

Re: What's Going on in Business?

Reply #8
Some guys have too much power (and money) even when jailed
Martin Shkreli must return $64.6 million in profits he and his former company reaped from jacking up the price and monopolizing the market for a lifesaving drug, a federal judge ruled Friday while also barring the provocative, imprisoned ex-CEO from the pharmaceutical industry for the rest of his life.

U.S. District Judge Denise Cote’s ruling came several weeks after a seven-day bench trial in December that featured recordings of conversations that Cote said showed Shkreli continuing to exert control over the company, Vyera Pharmaceuticals LLC, from behind bars and discussing ways to thwart generic versions of its lucrative drug, Daraprim.
See Shkreli's full story in Dirty Money documentary series episode Drug Short.

You can also shouldersurf him for the way he does financial analysis in his YT course[1] https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJsVF3gZDcuTxcdH5FmQRTd6MiJ29X_OQ
Honestly recommended. The guy is a skilled financier. I watched the whole thing and it helps me survive in my bank job.

Re: What's Going on in Business?

Reply #9
In addition to bursting into flames, Tesla cars seem to have a tendency to plunge into fjords.
Two motorists whose car plunged into a freezing Oslo fjord escaped unharmed when a floating sauna came to their rescue, Norwegian police have said. [...] The owner of the car, who was not identified by name, said he had thought the car was in park mode when he hit the accelerator pedal.

Tesla is recalling everything.
Tesla is recalling about 2.2 million vehicles because the font on the warning lights panel was too small to comply with safety standards, U.S. regulators said on Friday. [...] The models affected include the 2012 to 2023 Model S, the 2016 to 2024 Model X, the 2017 to 2023 Model 3, 2019 to 2024 Model Y and 2024 Cybertruck vehicles.

Tesla's payout to Musk has been cancelled.
A judge in the US state of Delaware has annulled a $55.8bn (£44bn) pay deal awarded to Elon Musk in 2018 by the electric car company Tesla.

And Elon is the best businessman we have, as measured by net worth. Don't pretend there is any other measure.


Re: What's Going on in Business?

Reply #11
Oh, so Musk is only #2 businessman in the world now? What a shakeup!

By the way, on a device where I have not found a way to block YT ads (namely my smart-tv) I just saw a Musk ad where he invited everyone to go to tesla2024.io to receive lots of money in Bitcoin and/or Ethereum. I haven't touched the address. Please report back, anyone who goes there :)

Existence of this kind of ads perfectly justifies total ad-blocking. All those social media companies go through some purging campaigns among the users of their platforms, but they cannot screen ads?



Re: What's Going on in Business?

Reply #14
In addition to bursting into flames, Tesla cars seem to have a tendency to plunge into fjords.
Two motorists whose car plunged into a freezing Oslo fjord escaped unharmed when a floating sauna came to their rescue, Norwegian police have said. [...] The owner of the car, who was not identified by name, said he had thought the car was in park mode when he hit the accelerator pedal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTTND6daGWI

Passengers of a sinking Tesla picked up by a sauna boat has been described as "Peak Bjørvika" (a district in Oslo). 

I used to live in Bjørvika back when it was a port/industrial/motorway ringroad. Not that anymore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9DxB0SgOq4